Mvp Winner May Not Be Player Of The Year

September 30, 1990|By ED GIULIOTTI, Baseball Writer

Barring a slump over the final few days, Cecil Fielder is about to go from a line in transactions to a line in the American League record book.

No American Leaguer has hit at least 50 homers since 1961, but Fielder entered the weekend one away. A tremendous accomplishment from a man who warranted little notice, except from salary structure critics, when the Tigers signed him out of Japan last winter.

Not only is he getting noticed these days, he`s in the eye of a storm. Should his season be recognized with a Most Valuable Player award?

Everyone has an opinion. Some say he shouldn`t be penalized because he plays on a bad team and deserves the award. Others maintain the award is for the most valuable player, and that Boston`s Roger Clemens or Oakland`s Rickey Henderson, whose teams are either in or close to the postseason, are the choices.

I vote with the latter theory. Based on the award`s structure, there really is no argument. But what the Baseball Writers Association of America must consider is restructuring the prerequisites.

Is it really necessary to name a most valuable player? If so, it doesn`t deserve to be a major award. A Player of the Year or Most Outstanding Player Award should be established.

A player deserves to be recognized, regardless of where his team finishes. Obviously, if a player catapults his team into the postseason, it would be a consideration (See: Carl Yastremski, 1967; Mike Schmidt, 1983). But at the same time, the Fielders and Ryne Sandbergs shouldn`t have to suffer because of their surroundings.

Fielder isn`t worried much about semantics these days. All he wants is his 50.

``My head hurts,`` he said. ``I`m tired. If it happens, it happens. But if it happens, I hope it happens quick.``

-- No real surprises came out of New York`s National League expansion presentations Friday. As expected, St. Petersburg`s three groups (which have a dome) all preached Florida`s weather as a deterrent for Major League Baseball. Meanwhile, Miami`s three groups, who made their presentations Sept. 18, remain optimistic. ``A lot of baseball people I`ve been talking to -- high-ranking people -- are very pleased with Miami,`` said Morton Davis, who heads one of the three groups. ``They give them an excellent chance. Not one group in particular, but the area in general. It looks like D.C.`s chances could be remote -- their TV market is too close to Baltimore. Buffalo could be in the same boat.`` Davis said he has not spoken with any of the four expansion committee members, but enjoys a close friendship with Fred Wilpon, who is on the committee... The Latin argument in Miami`s hopes gets thumbs up from Barry Stockhamer, the Dodgers` director of marketing and promotions. He said he has no figures on how much of Los Angeles` high Mexican population attends home games, but said significant numbers turn out whenever Mexican-born Fernando Valenzuela pitches. ``Once Fernandomania hit, there was a significant increase in attendance,`` he said. ``The last couple of years, during his down years, he had very little impact on attendance. Then after the (June 29) no-hitter, it flared up again.`` The Dodgers drew 2.4 million people in the strike- shortened season of 1981, Valenzuela`s rookie season, then drew a major league-record 3.6 million in 1982. They remained above three million until 1987, when Valenzuela slipped from 21-11 to 14-14.

-- Al Goldis, who resigned as White Sox farm director after General Manager Larry Himes was fired last week, is grateful to owner Jerry Reinsdorf for what he has done for him, but doesn`t regret leaving. ``They wanted me to keep quiet about Walter (Hriniak). Maybe for six weeks I could, but...``

Hriniak, the team`s hitting coach, is the center of controversy because of his methods, but a favorite of Reinsdorf.

Organizational members didn`t always seem to be on the same wavelength. While many in the White Sox system were livid over what they perceived as tampering by the Yankees with pitcher Alex Fernandez, Himes heard from a reporter that Reinsdorf and then-Yankees owner George Steinbrenner settled the matter themselves. And Himes took criticism for not acquiring Astros right-hander Mike Scott. Imaging the hot water he would have been in if he had paid Houston`s asking price: Frank Thomas and Bobby Thigpen.

``When (Hriniak) was hired, no one knew about it, including Larry,`` Goldis said. ``It was the same way with the Greg Walker signing.`` Goldis indicated he would rejoin Himes at his next stop, which could be in Atlanta.